Determinism

this essay encounters the apparent confrontation between determinism and our sense of agency as rational actors in the universe. In an attempt to make sense of this issue and the implications involved in dealing with it, several forms of argument will be explored. Finally I tentatively offer that the most parsimonious explanation currently lies in a form of compatibilist approach.

Antonio Damasio has argued that damage to the cortex can impair cognition to such an extent that those unfortunate afflicted no longer have free will (2005). This essay will tackle a deeper question: the issue of whether any of us have free will. This concern rises from an apparent confrontation between two of our deeply held and necessary concepts. These are the view we have of our selves, and the view we have of the universe. We think of events in the physical universe as forming a continuous causal chain stretching all the way back to the Big Bang, unfolding into the present through the immutable logic of natural law. To live comprehensible lives we need such a comprehensible view of the universe. However we also think of our selves as constantly choosing between alternative courses of action. Should I pursue a degree in psychology or philosophy? Should I settle down with my book or go to my friend’s party? The apparent confrontation between determinism and our view of self suggests we must choose between a comprehensible description of the universe and our ability to make truly free choices. Determinism suggests that our choices are determined by events that never could have been ours to choose, being as they were, set in motion billions of years before our birth. From this perspective it is by no means clear what sense it can make to imagine that w...

... middle of paper ...

...sness and free will. In view of what many perceive to be the diminishing returns of materialism in explaining both psychological and physical phenomena, a radical conceptual breakthrough may be required to truly reconcile the self with the universe.

The existence of free will remains a perplexing issue, dividing academics today as it did millennia ago. The arguments on each side have become more nuanced; premises have become sharper and more artfully posed, yet it seems possible - even likely, that we currently lack the appropriate conceptions of both causality and mentality to unify academics into a consensus on free will. In a particular sense the universe required the freedom to exist. The universe itself represents the exercising of a kind of freedom we are yet to understand. Maybe we don’t have freedom. Perhaps instead it is truer to say that freedom has us.